13. Topics for blog #13.

  1) How do you celebrate (if you the celebrate) the 9th of May? What is your attitude to the fact that many people now consider this holiday (and not only this) as a reason to gather and drink?
  2) Can you cook? What kind of dishes can you cook? Do you agree that cooking is not only necessity but also some kind of art?
  3) Have you done some sport? Do you have any achievements in it?

12. Cartoons.

   I decided to write a blog about the Liza's topic #3 about catoons. I consider cartoons as very important way of socialization of all children, so may be it is possible to control the content of modern cartoons.

   The answer on Liza's question about the best cartoon is 'The Lion King'. It is very beautiful story which touches many important themes of our life. The core of the story is in life of the main character, Simba. He comes through a difficult way of education by his father, the death of his father and following expulsion from the Kingdom and returning the justice in his freedom in the final of the cartoon. The main character presents such themes as responsibility for our deeds, the obedience to the parents and inviolable union of the family (more presented in the second part of the cartoon). Mufasa, the father of Simba, is a symbol of wisdom of a governor and lovinf father. There is also a theme of envy and betrayal which presented in the image of Scar who eventually dies from betrayals of hyenas. The hyenas in turn represents a theme of poor groups who are ready to do anything and listen to anyone to receive food. There is also rather famous image of two friends of Simba, Timon and Pumba, who live with a motto 'Hakuna Matata' which means avoiding any difficulties in life and just enjoying life. To sum up, 'The Lion King' is an extremely beatiful, instructive story which should be seen by everyone.

   Another one story which I liked in my childhood, but started to really appreciate is a Russian cartoon made on the novel of Nicolay Nosov "Dunno on the Moon". I ashamed to say that I didn't read the book which was written the 1960s, but I watched a cartoon. Now I understand that the Moon society described in the book was a great carucature of capitalists countries, and the Soviet Union was this peaceful society on the Earth. But now I start to think that this Moon society is very similar to our modernity. I don't want to talk about the governments and press controlled by big companies, but about the image of "Island of fools". I was shocked by the hidden meaning of the song about this island. The main idea that the time spent in the island changes people into goats. That can be said about our modern TV, music, humor and culture as whole. There is an overwhelming process of globalization, massification. People love similar persons, listen to similar music, laugh from similar jokes. They are animals which are very simple to manipulate. They are those goats from the "Island of fools".

   Now something about modern cartoons. The first point is new technologies of painting. I understand that it is very effective to use computers in creating of cartoons, but ... have you seen these "new" cartoons? The only possible name for characters of some of these cartoons is a monster! They are ugly, something like parodies on humans. The second point is content. It is absolutely stupid plots with "black" humor. The scenes with a person who slipped down on a banana peel are very common, but I think long time ago they were also considered as violent. The worst thing will be the situation when violence in the cartoons would become normal. That would mean people turned completely in goats and pigs.

   Cartoons is the way our children explore the world. Of course, cartoosns are kind of art too, and can be used to express feelings of the authors, but these expressions shouldn't spoil children's mind. The censorship on children cartoons is something incredible (but our government is trying to adopt such policy). So, this is parents' duty to contain their children from watching such cartoons.

   Our children is our future.

   Thank you for attention.

11. Room #101.

   I decided to write a post on David's topic about a most "scareful" fear. Actually, the point of my fear is rather abstract, so I want to write about and fear itself.

   The first time I have been asked the question about my own fear in room #101 was during Thursday discussion. After several minutes of thinking, I answered silence. It is rather strange kind of fear when nothing happens or happens very quietly. In our age the absolute silence could hardly be reach. And I like it. If I don't hear anything, strange things start in my mind. Sonething like the brain on its own creates sounds. And only sounds, but feelings of emptiness, the feeling of extremely high pressure coming from outside and squeezing all voices to the silence and yourself to the point. In this situation I am starting to say something, but can't really hear my own voice and this is real disaster. Only sound coming from "outside" can save me in this situation. This is dangerous, such kind of consternation.

   From this small "analysis" of one particular fear I can conclude only one statement: "The fear is in our mind". I think this phrase is common for all kinds of fear existing in reality. Sometimes the fear is a signal from the brain that some decisions can have dangerous concequences. These is instincts formed by nature of experience. But sometimes fear is formed by someone's opinion or by human's complexes. I think, the originality of such fears is the fear to fail. Or this frequent question: "What would "they" say if I did it?". In the place of word can placed almost every person in the world. Actually, people are more afraid to fail in someone else's eye's, not in their own. It may be couched in another way, something like: "In the short run people are thinking about opinion others. in the long run they carry about their own   ". But this is the root, why people are so afraid of others opinion. Of course, we don't live in caves any more. Nowadays society presses individualities through social norms and fashion. No one wants to be in the ruck and, in the same time, no one wants to be white crow. Because of the last statement could be attached to almost every person, so all people are the ruck. How to overcome the pressure of society and become fearless? I don't know. The only thing I know is that this mean removal from society. Life with society is feeling, security and sometimes slavery. This is just another trade-off of our life. All depends on you.

   So, this is what I wanted ti tell about the fear. Fear is something essential in our life. Sometimes it saves us from danger, sometimes it create difficulties. Such kind of "instrument" can be very useful sometimes.

   Thank you for attention.

10. Problems of education.

   In the last year I started thinking more and more on the questions of education, so I chose Anna's topic #1.

   How to encourage a child to study? Difficult question on which every parents find their answers. Based upon my own experience and experience of my friend who I know from the childhood, I assured only in one thing.YOU SHOULDN'T MAKE YOUR CHILD STUDY. I have a great amount of situation when my friends from the first form had several 'extrateachers', attended different 'circles' and the consequences of this 'extra activity' was that they really hate it and sometimes hate their parents who were making helpless children. Of course, you can say that in the age of 16-18 teens would regret that parents hadn't sent them to some circles. And, vice versa, those, who were sent, would be thankful to their parents. But the latter statement is about situations when children were pleased with their courses, and this is not about all situations.
 
   One more statement which I learnt from life experience is, "People never hear advice and never learn from other's mistakes". Only wise man can hear opinion of another man and then change his or her decision if it was wrong. Most people are stubborn goats. They listen and then do how they like. Especially children. If you would go after your child and speak permanently, 'You should study. The education will be useful in future', once your child would completely hate the education. That is why it is very important to make science interesting to a child. That is why, in my opinion, the role of primary-school teachers is underestimated. And, moreover, the group in which a child is studying is very important. I think there are 'not very good' schools in which from the very beginnig some pupils are against the education. These pupils are usually from 'not very good' families. In my opinion, the atmosphere in class is a very important criteria in choice of the school. If half of the class are not studying (and this is always the most 'active' part of the class), then it would disturb the another part half. So, coming from the assumption that you can't make your child study on the early stage, I conclude that in this period you should send him or her to 'good' school.


   All that was said in the previous paragraph are rather obvious thing. But what parents should do if their child refuse to study in rather 'intelligent' age. Learnt from the experience of my friends, I understood only one thing. And it is similar to the one from the first paragraph. You shouldn't annoy your child every day with appeals to study. What should parents do if a teen just uninterested in education? What if he or she just more interested in sports, art or in walking and doing nothing with friends? Maybe it is time for parents to understand that their child is not future great scientist and approve his or her extraschool interestings. It is stupid belief in our society that every successful person should have education. The success of the person depends on his or her own ablities such as purposefulness and initiativity and, of course, in our days, education (nowadays more and more number of successful people have good education). Such a parameter as 'individual abilities' is very vague in the age of 15, so parents want to receive 'insurance' for their children and they pay for their education which usually appears unnecessary. That is why most parents are ready their children study using all possible and impossible means, and, if they fail, ready to pay for them.

   The answer to the first question appeared longer than I have expected, so I will answer on the next two more shortly. Money for grades? In the school age the money incentive are not very effective in my opinion, because the money from parents it is like sign of their love. Most people just can't refuse to their children in money and it may create negative consequences in relations. And moreover, it creates negative effect that children are ready to study not to receive knowledge, but to receive money from parents. May be this is effective in short run, but a disaster in long run.

  Conversations with a child? Being a teenager, a child hears parent's phrases is opponent meaning. One or two conversations may be useful, but more would create child's bad attitude to education. In such a situation good friend could be very useful. That is why it is very important to not allow child to spend time in 'bad' companies because under their influence all conversation with a teenager would be useless.

   Of course, this is just thoughts of 18-year student. The reality about education of children would be different, but I hope this ideas will help me in future, because now I understand more in education from the side of a child than I would when I have children.

   Make children, not war! :)

   Thank you for attention.